TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (Oct. 18, 2008) - Competing in its final race before the 2008 Atlantic Sun Championships, the ETSU men's cross country team was overmatched against a deep 41-team field at the NCAA Pre-National Meet on Saturday afternoon.

The Buccaneers, who are ranked 10th in the South Region, placed 32nd overall (781 points); while Alabama (89 points), Northern Arizona (113points) and Michigan (146 points) rounded out the top three in the men's 8,000-meter Blue grouping.

ETSU was led upfront by sophomore newcomer Ben Ronoh (Sotik, Kenya). Ronoh guided the Buccaneers across the finish line for the first time all season, as he placed 82nd overall with a time of 24:46. Junior Kenneth Rotich (Nairobi, Kenya), who has been ETSU's most consistent runner all year, finished with a mark of 25:08.

Senior Michael Deren (Blasdell, N.Y) was the third Buccaneer runner to complete the course (25:27), and J Penny (Jonesborough, Tenn.) was right behind, completing the 8K race in 25:36. Senior Jeff Crane (Taylors, S.C.), who was competing in his first competition of the season, posted a time of 25:53.

Alabama's Tyson David was the overall champion in the blue field, finishing with a respectable time of 23:30.

Both the ETSU men's and women's cross country return to action on Nov. 1, when the Buccaneers head to Macon, Ga. for the conference championships.